A Midland coroner said he had suffered his darkest day in 40 years in the job after hearing five inquests into people who had hanged themselves.

The string of tragedies heard in just one morning was the worst experienced by Black Country Coroner Robin Balmain in a single session in his career, he said.

Mr Balmain, sitting at Walsall Manor Hospital, ruled that all five people – aged between 33 and 54 – had killed themselves, and added that the five cases were indicative of a worrying increase in suicides generally.

As he ruled that Derek John Baker, 44, of Gough Street, Willenhall had killed himself on December 17 last year, Mr Balmain said: “What’s particularly concerning is that this is an increasing trend.

"I’ve got a number of inquests today and five of them will involve death by hanging, which is far more than I’ve ever experienced before.

“I’ve been associated with the coroners’ service for 40 years and I’ve never dealt with one day of five deaths by hanging.

“Whether it’s something to do with the country’s financial situation, whether it’s an increasing breakdown of relationships, I don’t know what the explanation is.”

Mr Baker, who had lost his job two years previously, left a video message for his estranged wife Leanne and his son and daughter in which he apologised for ‘wrecking Christmas’.

Kishor Kumar Patel, 54, of Price Crescent, Bilston, was found hanged from a tree on land close to the town’s fire station on October 23, 2012.

Mr Balmain heard evidence from Mr Patel’s wife, from whom the dead man had separated due to his drinking problem, that he had been living on benefits.

Company director Stuart John Moroney, 48, of Tower Road, Sutton Coldfield, was discovered hanging at his business premises, LAM Finance Ltd on Queen’s Trading Estate, West Bromwich, on December 3 last year.

His widow Jacqueline said she believed the main cause of the death of her husband, whom she described as ‘a complete family man’, was a call he received from his accountant the Wednesday before his body was found, saying he was the subject of a major tax investigation.

“He wasn’t the same person any more – he completely distanced himself,” she said.

Hardip Singh Sandhu, 34, of Avenue Road, Wolverhampton, was found by his father hanging in the basement of their home on June 19, 2012.

Described as ‘private and withdrawn’ by family and friends, the pharmacist had not had a permanent job for around six years.

Self-employed builder John Graham Matthews, 33, of Lynmouth Close, Aldridge, was found dead at home on August 19 last year.

Addicted to cocaine, Mr Matthews had been unable to cope with the breakdown of his relationship with wife Stephanie, with whom he had lived in Four Oaks prior to their split last April.

His family alerted police after he unexpectedly fled to Cornwall in June 2012. Mrs Matthews said her husband, who also had a history of depression, had been embarrassed after suffering a drug relapse, having undergone 12 weeks of rehab, and drove to the south west to get away from dealers.

Speaking after the inquests, Mr Balmain added that there had been a definite increase in suicides over the last ‘six to nine months’.